Palmistry
by Kali Cephirot
Summary: The fact that he was certain that Ginji wasn't gonna be able to read his hand was the one reason Ban had agreed to this scrutiny. [BanxGinji. FINISHED.]


**Palmistry.**

"But Ban-chan..."

When Ginji gets that tone of voice, Ban knows he's doomed. He doesn't even have to turn his head to look towards big, wide brown eyes going teary and begging, nor Ginji pouting. Just the tone of voice is enough to know that he is going to agree to whatever Ginji wants.

He still puts it off long enough to take out a cigarette and light it, take a long drag of it, hold the smoke for a few seconds before letting it go. Then he holds the cigarette with his right hand and, not looking at him, he gives Ginji his left hand. Ginji mightn't be the type to gloat, but that doesn't mean that Ban will feel comfortable by the damn smile he's gonna have.

"I warn you," he tells Ginji as Ginji opens that magazine that Natsumi-chan had lent him. "It's bullshit."

"It's not, Ban-chan!" Ginji exclaims, still holding his hand. Ban looks at him from the corner of his eye. Ginji glares a little, the pout becoming fiercer. "You saw how that lady read mine!"

_Yeah, but she was the real deal_, Ban doesn't say. It's quite different to go to a real fortune teller, a woman who knows how to read the movement of the stars and energy and to whom chiromancy is like the ABC, than to expect an idiot with a teen's magazine to be able to do a proper reading.

For one thing, that would only cause Ginji to pout until Ban was forced to buy him more lunch than what they could afford so he'd stop doing so. For other, the fact that he _is_ certain that Ginji isn't gonna be able to read his hand is the one reason he has agreed to this scrutiny. He _has_ had his fortune read before, when he was younger, his grandmother a shadow nearby. There is no fucking way in hell that he is gonna let Ginji know about what his assumed fortune said.

Instead, he huffs. "Whatever. Are you gonna get on with it or what?"

At least they aren't at the Honky Tonk. Ban takes a deep breath and gets his cigarette close to his lips again, looking from the corner of his eyes towards Ginji as he looks from the magazine to his hand with a focused frown, muttering in a low breath.

Suddenly, Ginji's breath catches and Ban tenses. There's no way that a stupid magazine can be actually reliable and there's no way that Ginji might have a gift for it. Ginji's finger press against a long, thin scar on his palm.

"Ban-chan! What happened?" Ban lets out a smoke-tinted breath, controlling the urge to throttle Ginji. 

"Idiot," he shrugs, but Ginji holds to his hand, still tracing the scar. He gives the PG version of it. "Got cut with glass when I was little, no big deal."

"Oh," but Ginji keeps looking at his hand, the magazine forgotten. His rough fingertips are gentle as they move through the lines of his hand, asking about the scars he has and Ban keeps on giving the soft version of most of them, the version that won't make Ginji's eyes widen in shock and sadness. Midou Ban doesn't need compassion, not even from his partner.

After a while, however, Ginji runs out of scars to explore. He keeps holding his hand, frowning a little as he looks towards his palm, thumb rubbing at the first scar. His cigarette long finished, Ban snorts.

"Oi, Ginji!" He calls, snapping the attention of Ginji towards him. He nods towards his hand. "You done there?"

Ginji beams, brighter than the sun for a moment. "Yup! I read your palm, Ban-chan!"

"Is that so? Huh," Ban smirks. "What does it say, then?"

"Well," Ginji grins, but instead of touching the lines of his palm, he touches each scar, bump and callus in his hand. "Your hand says that there's no one stronger than Midou Ban-sama, and that he's also the bravest person in the world. He's kind but he doesn't like other people knowing that, and he's very hardworking! He's also very, very, very smart! And! He's a great friend, too."

Ban snorts, but he feels his hand twitch a little against Ginji's. "And you needed a magazine to know that?" he can hear the warmth in his voice. Lame.

"No, but it's nice to remember all the same!" Ginji grins, letting go of his hand. "And I liked holding Ban-chan's hand!"

"Idiot," He leaves his hand on top of the bench, and he's completely unsurprised when Ginji's rest on top of his. He could tell Ginji that it's his turn to read his hand now, and he'd even be able to actually read a little, despite the fact that he was never that good in chiromancy. But he doesn't have to read Ginji's hand to know the kind of person he is. He knows it by heart.


End file.
